In 2016, James Reich, chairman of the Creative Writing and Literature Department, launched his independent publishing house, Stalking Horse Press, which specializes in the “spiky, angular, errant” and seeks work that “engages with the world.”

While SFUAD’s Writing Center tutors provide invaluable assistance in writing, art history and math, they also are engaged in a mission of their own—one that aims to empower students and allow them to speak confidently about their art

Glyph’s 28th edition, officially released as of the Glyph Gala on May 3, is rife with firsts—giving the journal a higher profile for the selected authors and student editors.

Brianna Neumann, Sophie Farrell, Melinda Freudenberger and Cris Galvez will read in conjunction with all of the second and third place genre winners, at the Glyph Gala at 7 p.m. May 3, in the O’Shaughnessy Performance Space.

The Creative Writing and Literature Department’s Senior Reading series has begun, as the latter half of the spring semester is under way. All seniors in the CWL program are given the opportunity to have a collection of their work from their semesters at SFUAD published in their very own book.

Glyph editors are wrapping up their work for the 2016 edition of Creative Writing and Literature’s annual literary journal.

The Creative Writing and Literature Department’s Student Writers Association offers open-mics, workshops and other opportunities for generating, writing and publishing students’ work.

Submissions to Glyph are due by noon, Dec. 14, 2015. Students of all majors are welcome to submit up to 20 pages of work in any or all of the following genres: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, plays and screenwriting.

Seth Biderman picks a small, ripe tomato from a vine and pops it into his mouth. He walks down stone steps and back up a hill to Seton Castle, then sets his coffee mug down in a reinforced window among the ruins. The castle is the former home of naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton. It looks down upon the Academy for the Love of Learning, where Biderman serves as manager of the Academy’s Institute for Teachers. Biderman received his master’s degree in Creative Writing at the University of New Mexico. At the time, he thought he was getting a useless degree, and was proud to be doing so. However, he says the degree has been extremely helpful in his career. “The two things that have served me the most in my career are learning Spanish and learning how to write well. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t use my writing skills in my job.” There are two passions in Biderman’s life: writing and education. Right now, he’s got the best of both. As the newest contributing faculty member to SFUAD’s Creative Writing program, Biderman spends approximately four hours a week teaching Techniques of Fiction. The rest of his work week is spent at the Academy. Inside the building, a tiled waterfall greets visitors at the entrance. A small museum to the left is dedicated to Seton’s art and writing of Ernest Seton. A room upstairs houses a grand piano. Down the hall is a state-of-the-art kitchen. “Learning usually occurs in a bland, institutional space,” Biderman says. “Teachers come here for programs and they often ask, ‘This is for us?’” Teachers of all grade levels visit the Academy, free of charge, for a chance to revitalize their careers. In a profession known for its high burnout rate, the Academy’s programs offer teachers a new perspective on learning. A group of 12 educators meets once a month in a circle of chairs in the Leonard Bernstein room. Meditation pillows rest at their feet and a Tibetan singing bowl sits on the back table. Floor-to-ceiling windows span half the length of the room. No matter where one sits, one always has a view of the outdoors. Biderman likens the architectural features of the building to the teaching style employed. “All our rooms have an inside-outside thing going on,” Biderman says, “which mirrors the way we learn. When I learn about writing, I might get really into Faulkner for a while. That’s looking out. But then I have to come back in and ask myself, ‘What’s my voice?’” The unorthodox teaching methods at the Academy stem from the beliefs of founder Aaron Stern. In his previous work as dean of the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Stern began investigating the ways in which people learn. He developed a teaching philosophy of focusing more on honoring who people are and less on what we think they need to know. This lines up perfectly with Biderman’s vision of education. “I think traditional schools are on their way out,” he says. “It’s still a long way off, but I think we’ll slowly turn away from them.” A teacher who foresees the end of schools? It’s certainly unusual, but Biderman’s belief stems from what he calls the “infantilization” of teenagers. He feels that when adolescents reach the age at which they can contribute to the world, they are held back and told, “Not yet.” With programs like the Academy’s Inspire Santa Fe, teenagers get the opportunity to explore their passions before they even reach high school. SFUAD Film major William Gallegos currently mentors a student in the six-month program. While most of his time is spent working with teachers, Biderman also works with youth in his Techniques of Fiction class at SFUAD. The entry-level course instructs Creative Writing students on the basic elements of storytelling. It gives Biderman the chance to delve back...

The Student Writers Association (SWA) held its first meeting of the school year last week, and with it began another year of quirky innovations in the art of writing. The coming semesters promise another mixed bag of surprises from the group, which delights in denying conventions. As a member of SWA myself, I decided to step out of the objective view of a reporter and bring some of the spirit of the group to our interviews. I ask each of my colleagues to bring their favorite book with them. Our assignment?  To flip through the pages and find a word or phrase that describes each member of SWA. What follows is an act of literary communion, wielding dangerous Sharpies and filled with ink-splotched abandon. Melinda Freudenberger “That crazy bastard may be the only sane one left.” —Catch-22 When I meet up with Melinda Freudenberger on the Quad, she is smoking a cigarette under a tree. I ask her what’s on the horizon for SWA this year. “We’re planning a lot of cool open mics,” she says, and recalls watching a video of a band performing in a cave. While there are no caves in the Santa Fe area, she says we can expect some unusual locations for open mics. “We’re planning on streamlining Coffee Spoons,” Freudenberger says of SWA’s literary magazine. Coffee Spoons began last year as a monthly, online publication, culminating in the release of a limited, physical copy at the end of the spring semester. After struggling to receive submissions to the magazine, SWA has decided to work with students who attend their meetings to produce pieces for publication. Issues of Coffee Spoons will then be released at the end of each semester. Freudenberger believes that the group’s past difficulty in receiving submissions can be linked to students’ insecurities. “I equate this with open mic anxiety,” she says. “I share the feeling of not having something to read at an open mic or not feeling comfortable having my work published. Publication is put on a pedestal and it doesn’t need to be like that.” Coffee Spoons serves as an entry-level publication for students, but that doesn’t mean that all work is accepted. Freudenberger credits her acceptance into SFUAD’s annual literary journal, Glyph, as giving her the confidence to submit to outside publications. “You can be rejected from Coffee Spoons,” Freudenberger says, “but it exists as proof that you can be published.” SWA has not always been so innovative and fun. In fact, Freudenberger says, “It was pretty shitty. The first meeting I went to, the seniors just talked at us. They told us to bring work in and they’d workshop it, but nobody ever did.” Freudenberger recalls a lack of warmth. “There wasn’t as much encouragement to new students to read as there is now. It felt closed off.” This lack of community served as the impetus for change. Creative Writing faculty member Dana Levin was instrumental in finding new recruits. She pulled Freudenberger aside one day, along with Amaya Hoke, Marina Woollven and Nik Thomas. Levin took them by surprise when she addressed them as SWA. “That’s when things started to change,” Freudenberger says. “We had to stop and consider whether or not we actually cared about it, and if we did, how could we make it better?” The group was strengthened last year by then-seniors Brandon Brown and Bailey Schaumburg. They provided the warmth that was missing. Schaumburg took charge of organizing the open mics. Brown made a conscious effort to mentor the underclassmen, grooming them to take over after he graduated. “We were really excited about it,” Freudenberger says, “but also a little nervous.” This is Freudenberger’s second year as a board member of SWA. The work is not without its stress. So much time gets put into organizing events that board members don’t always get to see the benefits of their work. But every once in a while, there is proof that the...

SFUAD’s new Writing Center opens on Sept. 21. The space will be shared by Hideki Nakazono’s tutoring staff and the Creative Writing program. The Writing Center will act as a space for Creative Writing students to get away from distractions elsewhere on campus.

Author James Reich describes Mistah Kurtz! as a prelude to Joseph Conrad’s infamous novel Heart of Darkness